Students' union calls for nation-wide strike

The national union of Luxembourg students UNEL has called for a country-wide strike on April 25, urging school and university students not to go to class in protest against the new student financial aid law.

14.04.2014

(CS) The national union of Luxembourg students UNEL has called for a country-wide strike on April 25, urging school and university students not to go to class in protest against the new student financial aid law.

Saying that they are shocked by the proposal for a reform of the law, put forward by Education Minister Claude Meisch, UNEL has called on teachers to support the strike.

Three protest marches are planned in Luxembourg City, starting at Glacis, the central train station and the Geesseknäppchen campus at 10am. An online petition against the law has also been launched.

Under a new regulation, petitions, which receive more than 4,500 signatures online need to be debated in parliament, with six signatories of the petition invited to speak at the Chamber of Deputies.

UNEL argues that 90 percent of students would be affected by budget cuts under the new law, which regulates the distribution of student financial aid based on location of study and financial background.

Students are eligible for a 6,500 euro loan in addition to a 2,000 grant. Students studying abroad get an additional 2,000 euro mobility stipend and tuition fees of up to 3,500 euros per year can be claimed back. Students from low-income households can apply for an additional 2,500 euros scholarship.

For the latter funds, students from households earning less than 4.5 times the minimum salary can apply. The minimum salary currently stands at 1,921.03 euros per month for employees aged over 18.

Depending on eligibility criteria, students could pocket up to 16,500 euros under the new funding regime.

While Prime Minister Xavier Bettel commented in his state of the nation speech earlier this month that the new regulation would still be very generous, UNEL commented that the law undermines the independence of students.

While the government has said that its wants to make student financial aid more socially selective to support those who really need it, UNEL said in a statement that students from financially disadvantaged households are kept from studying under the new law.